


tony's death

by kippenlakes



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Hurt Tony Stark, Not Proofread, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, i choose to believe tony stark is alive, kms, written before endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kippenlakes/pseuds/kippenlakes
Summary: i wrote this before endgame, but the title is pretty self-explanatory





	tony's death

Peter lay on the ground trying to gain his breath. Everything was blurry, everywhere he looked, all the land’s features blended into one. 

“You seem to have three broken ribs and a concussion,” Karen said.

“Oh, nice,” Peter struggled to say.

Peter! Kid, where are you? He could hear echoes of a voice, a familiar one. A comforting one.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter coughed.

He could hear the clashing of metal against the dirt floor. “Fuck, Peter, I told you to stay at the base. You never listen.”

Peter felt a flesh hand lift his head up and everything seemed to focus. “Oh, hey, Mr. Stark. What’re you doing here?”

“We need to get you help,” Tony said, concern fighting through his unnaturally calm voice.

“Mr. Stark, I’m okay! I’m healing as we speak. I can still help,” Peter said quickly.

Before Tony could say something back, he was thrown back. A large skid could be heard, but the colors red and gold were nowhere to be seen. “Tony?!” Peter screamed, before his focus skipped back to the gigantic figure made from alien technology stood before him. Any other time, Peter would stay and fight, but the only thing on his mind was whether Tony was okay, whether he was still alive. As he shot out webs, he felt his back hit the hard ground, a metal hand closing around his neck, stealing the remaining strength he had left as if it were a drug. Because of all the adrenaline and panic, Peter’s injuries took no part in his mind.

A shield came out of nowhere, striking the head of the monster above him. Tendrils of red wrapped around the machine’s body, constricting it from dealing out any more damage. Peter took the chance to get out from under it, his mind still rattling, thinking about the man whom he viewed as a mentor, a male parental figure, which he hadn’t experienced since Uncle Ben passed. 

“Spiderman!” He could hear Captain America yell. He whipped his head around to see Steve Rogers behind him, a hand on his back. “Go. We’ll take care of it. Bruce is coming soon. You can’t focus now anyway.” Peter nodded quickly and ran towards the forest. 

He slowed down as he moved along a string of aliens left behind, as still as a painting. He ran until he heard the faint sound of weak, whirring repulsors. 

He found Tony leaning against the side of a tree, pieces of his suit scattered around near him.

“No, no, no. Come on, Mr. Stark,” tears immediately formed in his eyes, “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.”

Another whir sounded, a cough following it. Peter let out a sign of relief, but all that relief was ripped away when he saw the concern in Tony’s eyes. And that’s when Peter noticed everything. He had been too focused on just finding Tony, he hadn’t noticed the pool of blood spilling out from under him or the lack of nanotechnology that should be healing him at the moment. After he was thrown, his suit must’ve taken some damage or hit something vital. As the wave of aliens approached Tony, he must’ve gotten severely hurt. Peter looked around the suit, hoping he would find some way to get it to work.

“The suit’s not going to work, Pete,” Tony said softly. He sounded surprisingly calm.

“No. It’s gotta work. Just-just tell me what I have to do. Tell me how I can fix it. Shuri has got to have the materials. You just got-gotta tell me,” Peter said, his hands on the exposed wound on Tony’s abdomen, his mask on the ground beside him.

“Pete, listen to me,” Tony placed him hand on Peter’s upper arm, trying to calm him as he shook his head, panicking. “Peter. I need you to look at me.”

Peter closed his eyes as he brought his head up to look at Tony. Maybe the longer he took to open his eyes, the longer Tony would stay alive. The longer he wouldn’t have to accept the harsh reality he knew would be coming. “I-I can’t, Mr. Stark. You can’t-”

“You need to tell Pepper I love her, okay? An-And you need to know I care about you. This isn’t your fault, kid.” By now, tears were streaming down Peter’s face while his sobs were being held inside. Tony’s heart shattered at the thought of leaving Peter alone.

“Hey, hey,” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm, forcing the boy to meet his eyes. “You’re gonna be okay, kid.”

“I can’t do this alone, Mr. Stark,” Peter choked out between sobs.

“Yes, you can. You were a hero long before you put on that suit, Peter,” Tony sat up straighter, pulling Peter into a hug before it was too late. He could feel Peter’s arms wrap around him tightly, and the only thing racing through his mind was that if he were to live his last moments with the boy he considered a son, that would be better than a death spent alone. He could hear Peter’s quiet sniffling while he continued to slip away. “Pete, I-I…”

Tony’s arms released Peter’s smaller body and his body stilled, all of his weight shifting into Peter’s arms.

Peter grew still, a deep well brewing inside his body. He pulled back to look at Tony’s face, his tears falling freely onto the forest floor as he cradled Tony’s body. He released the sobs he had been holding in, but the only thing he could hear were the muffled sounds of a silent battle, a victorious one. But that didn’t matter.

“No… No… Come on, Tony. Please, wake up. Please,” Peter choked, feeling for a heartbeat that he knew wasn’t there. He was so enraptured by all the pain he was feeling, pain he knew he would never fully recover from. 

The survivors of the battle stumbled upon the sight, immediately feeling a sense of loss so great, everything they had done to win the war, seemed like it was for nothing. Steve ran to where everyone else was, stopping almost immediately when he lay his eyes on the man he once knew. Everyone was too in shock to look away, forcing themselves to stare at the event they thought they caused. The Avengers, the project Tony Stark began all those years ago, fell apart, right then and there.

Everyone knew there was no Avengers without Tony Stark. Steve may have been the Captain, but Tony Stark was the glue that held everyone and everything together.

Only an endless amount of pity could be felt for the young man cradling Tony Stark. His cries telling Tony to wake up, filled the ears of everyone within a few feet, breaking the focus of Steve Rogers. Only now did Steve realize how young the boy was. He looked around at everyone else, stopping at Rhodey. The two, Iron Man and War Machine, had been side by side for as long as anyone could remember. The two men met each other’s eyes, Steve nodded ever so slightly.

Rhodey snapped into action, running to Peter and taking the young man into his arms. Peter’s cries grew louder, everyone now on their knees, trying to comfort one another even though none of them knew how. 

It was only a couple hours later when quinjets and medical assistance arrived, that anyone moved from their previous positions. 

“Hey, Peter, you gotta get up. C’mon,” Rhodey whispered. A woman walked over to the two asking if Peter needed anything.

“No, no, I got him,” Rhodey replied.

“I-I need to call Aunt May… Gotta make sure she’s okay,” Peter said softly, his voice raspy and exhausted.

“I’ll take care of it, Peter. Let’s get you home,” Rhodey said. 

“Everything hurts,” Peter rasped before closing his eyes and relaxing in Rhodey’s arms.

The only thing anyone could do now was make sure the kid got back to his family.

\-----

A car dropped Peter back home after he refused to stay the night at the compound. All he needed right now was to see his aunt. He needed to feel the comfort of her hugs, taste some of her bad cooking, just feel something normal when everything around him was anything but. 

Before he even knocked on the door, it opened, his aunt, Ned, and MJ, standing on the other side of the threshold. Peter thought he would be overwhelmed if he saw his friends again so soon, but right as he saw them, he just felt relief. 

Aunt May pulled him into a hug that Peter melted into. He felt two more pairs of arms wrap around him and for a moment, even if it was sparse, he felt like he’d be able to get through this.

After everyone pulled away, Aunt May stood there, her hand on the side of his face, a sad smile on her face. Peter’s big eyes stared up at her, struggling to find the words he needed to say. 

“I-I-I don’t-” Peter began to say.

“That’s okay. We’re here when you’re ready,” Aunt May spoke softly.

Peter nodded and went over to where Ned and MJ were standing. “Hey, guys.” He was pulled into another hug, bringing a small smile to his lips. 

“You had us worried sick,” Ned whispered.

“Don’t do that again, loser,” MJ said softly.

Peter tightened his arms between his two closest friends. “Can we watch movies? Maybe marathon Star Wars? … Tony and I watched them after training once.”

“Sure we can, dude,” Ned replied.

“I’ll make the popcorn,” Aunt May said. 

The three teenagers turned to her. “I think we can manage popcorn, Aunt May,” Peter told her, leaving out the detail that his aunt couldn’t cook for the life of her.

Hours later, everyone was curled up on the couch underneath blankets, watching A New Hope. MJ was sitting at the edge of the couch, her legs on top of Ned’s lap. Ned was right beside her, leaning against Peter, constantly making sure his best friend was still there. Aunt May leaned on the other side of Peter, just relaxing in the comfort that her boy was okay. All of a sudden, MJ reached over and grabbed Peter’s arm, placing two fingers on his wrist. Ned followed pursuit, sitting up and putting two fingers on his neck. Aunt May leaned down to lay her head on his chest where his heart was. 

“Uhh… what’re you guys doing? We’re at the best part,” Peter asked.

“Just making sure,” MJ responded, smiling softly at Peter.

Peter looked at all of them while their eyes moved back to the screen, all of them sitting like before. A small smile lit up his face, reaching his eyes.

And in that moment, he felt…okay. Maybe it was stupid, that something so simple and small like his family checking his heartbeat, made him feel safe.

(a couple months later)

“So I got accepted into Columbia. I’m kinda scared, I guess, but at least I’ll still be in New York. I can still see Aunt May, MJ, and Ned. Ned will be with me anyway, and MJ will be over at NYU. Can you believe MJ said Ned and I would become snobby, pretentious losers? We’ve already got the loser part down, according to her,” Peter chuckled, his face shifting from smiling to a face full of longing.

“I-um…,” Peter quickly wiped a tear before it fell. “I-I miss you, is all.” He couldn’t bring himself to say anything else without breaking down. 

Peter felt a small hand on his back. He turned around and brought Pepper into a hug, giving a quick kiss to the small child in her arms. He turned back, standing beside Natasha. It had been months since Tony had died and only now were the Avengers given a chance to say their goodbyes without appearing on the news. As everyone said their goodbyes to the man who was once their teammate, once a member of their family. Peter went to wait in the car shortly after conversing with everyone, gathering his thoughts. 

Rhodey stepped into the car, sitting next to Peter, interrupting his concentration.

“Did I ever tell you about the time you went back home after a mission and you didn’t check in with Tony?” Peter shook his head slightly, his eyes wide.

“Well, he found out you got broken ribs, broken bones, fractures, and a concussion. He was in his workshop all damn night, refusing every meal I brought him, just working on your suit. I said to him You’re gonna add too many damn features and Peter is gonna activate a parachute or something when he’s trying to heat himself up. He told me That’s ridiculous. They’re activated differently.”

“He wasn’t wrong. Both systems were programmed differently. Only Karen could activate them and she’s too smart to equip the wrong thing,” Peter interrupted.

Rhodey smiled at the young boy. But before he could continue, Peter asked him, “Why did he do all that for me? I know he cared, but-”

“You were his son, Peter. Blood or not, you were his son. You gave him just as much peace and comfort as he gave to you. I don’t know if he ever got to tell you, but he loved you, Peter. Don’t doubt for a second that he didn’t,” Rhodey told him.

Peter looked away. “It never gets easier. Everyone says it does, but it doesn’t.” He asked shakily.

“You’re right, it doesn’t. But you got a whole other family by your side. We all miss him, too. Sometimes it helps to lean on other people.”

“Will you guys tell me about him?”

“Only if you do the same,” Rhodey smiled.

“Deal. Maybe we can all figure out a way to be okay together. I know it hasn’t been easy for you guys either.”

“That’d be nice, kid. Yeah… that’d be nice,” Rhodey smiled.

Rhodey stepped out of the car, joining the others who were talking amongst themselves near the road, leaving Peter to his thoughts.

“How is he?” Steve asked.

“He’s going to be okay,” Rhodey said.

“He’s so young,” Bruce commented.

“But he’s strong. Maybe stronger than us all,” Natasha smiled.

“He sure is better with emotion that all of us. And that’s saying something, since he still sucks,” Clint said, getting slapped on the shoulder by Natasha.

“The young earthling… I do not know how else to describe it. It’s like looking at the sun, no matter how sad he may feel,” Thor said.

The rest hummed in agreement before getting in their own cars and heading back to the compound.

They got to say their goodbyes. It was as close to closure as any of them would get and that meant as days continued to pass, the remaining Avengers would get closer and closer to one another. Even in death, Tony remained as the glue of the team. And he always would. 

Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Iron Man, and above all else, hero.


End file.
